Front end has gone vague
Discussion
I have an 1190 Adventure , its 9 years old but in very good shape , I have had it for three years .
It has 20k miles, an MOT one month ago, no advisories, and the tyres are 1000 miles old, Scorpion Trail 2.
The bike has always had a very sure feeling front end , giving complete confidence and I have never doubted it , until now . It has without warning lost its feeling and doesn't feel planted anymore .
I went over the bike yesterday and again today , wheel bearings fine , chain absolutely spot on , front forks true , the paint marks I put on the bolts showing they have not moved . Brakes fine and tyre pressure absolutely accurate to where I keep them for the past three years of ownership . Wheels track true. Steering damper smooth .
Spokes fine , no notchy head stock, and I cycled the suspension today from firm /soft /hard and single rider/ two up etc , then back to where I always ride it .
Its just lost confidence in the front end without any intervention from me . It was great last week, I went out yesterday and today and its wrong . It lives in my garage , so no interference .
No dropped bike , no potholes .
Any thoughts appreciated .
It has 20k miles, an MOT one month ago, no advisories, and the tyres are 1000 miles old, Scorpion Trail 2.
The bike has always had a very sure feeling front end , giving complete confidence and I have never doubted it , until now . It has without warning lost its feeling and doesn't feel planted anymore .
I went over the bike yesterday and again today , wheel bearings fine , chain absolutely spot on , front forks true , the paint marks I put on the bolts showing they have not moved . Brakes fine and tyre pressure absolutely accurate to where I keep them for the past three years of ownership . Wheels track true. Steering damper smooth .
Spokes fine , no notchy head stock, and I cycled the suspension today from firm /soft /hard and single rider/ two up etc , then back to where I always ride it .
Its just lost confidence in the front end without any intervention from me . It was great last week, I went out yesterday and today and its wrong . It lives in my garage , so no interference .
No dropped bike , no potholes .
Any thoughts appreciated .
When did you have the fork oil replaced last time?
link said:
What are the warning signs that your suspension needs service now?
[...]
Pay attention to how your adventure bike handles. If it feels vague in corners or dives excessively under braking, your fork oil has likely broken down. A rear end that bounces repeatedly after hitting bumps or feels harsh over small irregularities suggests your shock needs attention. These handling changes often develop gradually, so you might not notice until the problem becomes significant.
[...]
Inconsistent behaviour is another warning sign. If your suspension feels different from one day to the next, or one fork leg seems to move differently than the other, something is wrong internally. This might indicate uneven oil levels, worn bushings, or damaged internal components. Don’t ignore these symptoms, as they typically worsen quickly and can affect your safety.
[...]
https://tfxsuspension.com/blog/adventure-motor-bike/how-often-should-adventure-bike-suspension-be-serviced/[...]
Pay attention to how your adventure bike handles. If it feels vague in corners or dives excessively under braking, your fork oil has likely broken down. A rear end that bounces repeatedly after hitting bumps or feels harsh over small irregularities suggests your shock needs attention. These handling changes often develop gradually, so you might not notice until the problem becomes significant.
[...]
Inconsistent behaviour is another warning sign. If your suspension feels different from one day to the next, or one fork leg seems to move differently than the other, something is wrong internally. This might indicate uneven oil levels, worn bushings, or damaged internal components. Don’t ignore these symptoms, as they typically worsen quickly and can affect your safety.
[...]
To answer both points.
I understand it can get in your head, it is now . I was riding a known stretch to me today,back and forward with different settings trying to get it to feel how it used to . This has just happened all of a sudden and it's definitely different.
For the fork oil they are WP semi active. I don't expect it's ever been changed. I will have to find some videos. It doesn't look straight forward.
Again though it was fine last Thursday on a ride . Not good at all on the Saturday.
I understand it can get in your head, it is now . I was riding a known stretch to me today,back and forward with different settings trying to get it to feel how it used to . This has just happened all of a sudden and it's definitely different.
For the fork oil they are WP semi active. I don't expect it's ever been changed. I will have to find some videos. It doesn't look straight forward.
Again though it was fine last Thursday on a ride . Not good at all on the Saturday.
I’d be looking at the headstock. Even though you say it’s not notchy it could be too loose.
Re the fork oil in the wp semi active it doesn’t do much as the cartridges do all the work.
Changing the oil if you wish couldn’t be easier. It’a just a case of taking the forks out of the bike. The caps come off with the cartridge attached so you don’t even need to worry about compressing the spring. You do of course need to undo the bottom bolt in the fork.
Re the fork oil in the wp semi active it doesn’t do much as the cartridges do all the work.
Changing the oil if you wish couldn’t be easier. It’a just a case of taking the forks out of the bike. The caps come off with the cartridge attached so you don’t even need to worry about compressing the spring. You do of course need to undo the bottom bolt in the fork.
Peter T said:
A fork service for sure, oil degrades due to cavitation and contains particles of bearing wear. Also breaks down it's viscosity over time. I had a broken fork spring which suddenly changed the front end of my bike overnight, so a strip and service is a good starting point.
That’s generally good advice but Op has WP semi active so it’s not the same as conventional spring and valve forks.Besides, he says it was fine one day but not the next. Could be a major suspension fault I suppose caused by something breaking but I’d have thought that would be more obvious.
OP here thanks for all the suggestions. Bike is now in many bits in the garage and I have to say I have found no broken or worn components yet .
I will come back and update over the next days , may be a few days.
Again appreciate the comments and I will update in time.
I will come back and update over the next days , may be a few days.
Again appreciate the comments and I will update in time.
Edited by cliffords on Tuesday 14th April 22:42
Well I don't know how but its fixed , I changed a lot of things all at once so I will never know I guess. Been out 40 miles just now and its perfect again the very good front end is fully back . I have a much bigger ride tomorrow with a pall so I wanted to test it out today .
I had the forks off the bike and everything that entails . I put it all back together carefully checking and checking every bolt to the correct torque etc.
The only adjustment I made was barely a quarter of a turn on the headstock bearings . They were not loose , not clicking, no knocking , I just did it whilst it was all apart and checked I still had good steering movement without the damper on.
Its just better now cured , I found nothing broken and nothing loose as I disassembled .
I had the forks off the bike and everything that entails . I put it all back together carefully checking and checking every bolt to the correct torque etc.
The only adjustment I made was barely a quarter of a turn on the headstock bearings . They were not loose , not clicking, no knocking , I just did it whilst it was all apart and checked I still had good steering movement without the damper on.
Its just better now cured , I found nothing broken and nothing loose as I disassembled .
Quarter of a turn is not much, but that is likely the difference between "confident" and "vague".
Good work undoing everything that surrounds / is mounted to the fork,
the feeling of "just right, not too tight" in turning/checking the forks is compromised by hoses, cables and wires.
Have a good and safe trip !
Good work undoing everything that surrounds / is mounted to the fork,
the feeling of "just right, not too tight" in turning/checking the forks is compromised by hoses, cables and wires.
Have a good and safe trip !
Benni said:
Quarter of a turn is not much, but that is likely the difference between "confident" and "vague".
Good work undoing everything that surrounds / is mounted to the fork,
the feeling of "just right, not too tight" in turning/checking the forks is compromised by hoses, cables and wires.
Have a good and safe trip !
My 1290GT needs to be slackened off then tightened to 18Nm, it might be worth checking the handbook for the correct figure.Good work undoing everything that surrounds / is mounted to the fork,
the feeling of "just right, not too tight" in turning/checking the forks is compromised by hoses, cables and wires.
Have a good and safe trip !
I started to get a small clunking feeling on my 1290 SDR after about 1 year of ownership, I thought it was forks or a wheel bearing, but with a bit of fault finding it was the headstock, no idea how it could work loose, maybe KTM don't torque them enough from the factory... who knows, but it was the slightest of adjustment to sort the problem.
Could have been anything as you say, glad it's sorted.
Could have been anything as you say, glad it's sorted.
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